


not a soul on the road

by aNerdObsessed



Series: Post-TROS Fix-It Fics [6]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Adoption, Established Reylo, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Leia Loves Her Grandbabies, Married Reylo, Reylo Baby, Tros fix-it, soft reylo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-18
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 06:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22232905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aNerdObsessed/pseuds/aNerdObsessed
Summary: Some things take time to heal, but it's easier when you have someone to heal with
Relationships: Rey & Ben Solo, Rey & Ben Solo | Kylo Ren, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Series: Post-TROS Fix-It Fics [6]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1576006
Comments: 14
Kudos: 81





	not a soul on the road

**Author's Note:**

> _Not a soul on the road, not a star in the sky_   
>  _It's a desert in my heart, and I know where to hide_   
>  _I'm your king of nothing at all_   
>  _And you're my queen of nothing at all_   
>  _Well, out here in the dust if you don't have trust_   
>  _Ain't nothing left of us, this is the exodus_   
>  _They're just testing us, they can't flex with us_   
>  _They can't mess with us, they can't mess with us_   
>  _Oh, through the wilderness_   
>  _How come even together there can be loneliness?_   
>  _Oh, our heart's a mess_   
>  _But it's our only defense to brave the wilderness_
> 
> One Foot by WALK THE MOON  
> *****  
> These drabbles get worse as time goes on. I'm so sorry.

“Ben!” Rey calls, stepping through the front door. “We’re home!”

She unslings the rucksack from her shoulder and sets it down before moving aside so Leia and little Temiri can follow her inside.

“Where are they?” Temiri asks with a frown, setting down Leia’s traveling case. It’s almost as big as he was, but the little boy had insisted on carrying it for his grandmother, while also refusing to let go of Leia’s hand. It had been a little tricky navigating the stairs without incident.

“Be careful not to trip over anything,” Rey warns them. “I asked Ben and Hanna to clean up the shoes and toys before you arrived but who knows if they did.”

“It seems dark,” Leia observes. “Are you sure they’re home?”

Rey turns on the glow panels in the tenement’s entryway. “It's dark outside; I don’t know where else they’d be. And Hanna was really looking forward to your visit.”

"Well, isn't that gratifying," Leia smiles, the wrinkles around her eyes dimpling, as Temiri tugs her down the corridor to search for his father and little sister.

“I brought dinner!” Rey tries again, walking towards the kitchen with the sack of food. She stops when she reaches the living area, realizing why no one was answering.

Ben’s long frame is stretched across the couch, an arm flung over his eyes, and little Hanna is sprawled across his chest, her tiny body rising and falling with her father’s steady breaths.

Leia and Temiri appear in the other doorway. “Somebody must have had a long day,” Leia chuckles

Ben stirs, cracking open his eyes blearily. “Mom?”

“That’s me,” Leia agrees. Temiri watches with serious eyes, a little wrinkle between his brows as if he disapproves of the reception Ben and Hanna are giving Leia.

Ben stretches with a groan, then freezes when he realizes someone is on top of him. Rey comes over and brushes back her daughter’s dark unruly curls. “Hanna. Nana’s here.”

The little girl’s face scrunches up slowly, her eyes still shut, and she turns her head away. “No.”

“Yes. Come on, say hi to Nana and then we can eat dinner.”

“Not hungry,” she mumbles, squirming away from her mother’s touch.

Ben, a little more wakeful than he was before, sits up with Hanna clinging to his neck. “Wake up,” he says. “Come on.”

Hanna’s hold tightens and Rey sympathizes with Ben’s attempt to pry her skinny arms loose before he asphyxiates. "Hanna," he says warningly.

“Hanna, you need to say hello,” Temiri says, finally letting go of Leia’s arm to stand nearer to the couch. The serious frown on his face deepens, reminding Rey of a comical little version of Ben.

“Go away, Temmi,” Hanna snaps, turning her head to glare at her brother before snuggling closer to Ben.

“Hanna, we don’t use that tone,” Rey reprimands. “It’s time to eat.”

“I’m tired,” Hanna says petulantly.

Rey and Ben exchange a look.

“It is late,” Ben acknowledges. “If she’s not hungry, she’s not hungry.”

Rey hesitates, uncomfortable with the idea of Hanna going to bed without dinner, willful or not.

“I can put her to bed,” Leia volunteers. “I ate on the shuttle anyway so I’m not that hungry either.”

Ben stands, and it's an awkward shuffle when he's so much taller than Leia and Hanna's clinging to him like a mynock and he has to extricate each of his daughter's limbs individually and they maybe almost drop the little girl as she squirms sleepily but eventually they manage it.

"Thanks, Mom," Ben says, straightening his loose sweater.

Leia shifts Hanna to her hip and puts a hand on her son's face. He leans down obligingly and lets her press a kiss to his cheek. "It's good to see you."

Rey can tell that Ben is concentrating to stay relaxed, almost squirming. "You too, Mom." 

Leia pats his cheek and leaves the living area with the sleepy girl, disappearing into Hanna’s room. Ben's eyes catch Rey's look and he clears his throat.

"Here, let me take the food," he says, holding out his hand.

While Ben and Temiri serve the surprisingly tasty food Rey brought from the vendor at the shuttle depot, Rey takes Leia’s bags to the guest room. She pauses at Hanna’s room, where Leia is sitting on her granddaughter’s bed, Hanna leaning against her while she braids her hair up for the night. Rey watches for a moment, smiling as Hanna nearly slumps over, causing Leia to almost lose the progress she made.

“Are you sure you don’t want something to eat?” Rey asks Leia softly.

Leia looks up and shakes her head. “No, thank you. I think I’m just going to go to sleep after this.”

“Alright. Your luggage is in the guest room.”

“Thank you. Good night.”

“Good night.”

Rey shut the door quietly and goes to the kitchen. Ben is asking Temiri questions about their trip to the station and Temiri quietly answers each one with insightful detail. When Rey and Ben had first taken Temiri in, the little boy hadn’t volunteered many words, although he was willing enough to respond when spoken to directly. In fact, he was almost overeager to answer sometimes in a way that makes Rey's heart ache. She remembers what it was like as a small child on her own, her fate in the hands of those who were stronger, constantly working to keep everyone in authority placated out of fear of the consequences if they weren't. It was exhausting, and Rey hopes in time Temiri would feel comfortable enough to express himself without prompting.

Rey joins them at the table, rapidly digging into the mound of meat and vegetables Ben had piled onto her plate. His earlier discomfort forgotten, he raises his eyebrows at her and she pokes her fork at him.

“I’m hungry, okay? I haven’t eaten since this morning.”

He smiles and shakes his head. “So Temiri," Ben says, "tomorrow we’re going to do some more exercises, okay? We got to keep working on your meditation. You're doing really well.”

Temiri nods. “Okay.”

Rey notes Temiri rubbing his eyes, almost yawning with the unchewed food still in his mouth. “Are you done eating?”

Temiri nods again, swallowing the mouthful.

“Alright, go to bed. We’ll see you in the morning.”

Temiri gets up and stumbles off to his room.

“I’m feeling sleepy myself,” Rey mutters, stretching her back and pushing away her plate. “With the shuttle arriving late and the trouble with the speeder, it took nearly all day just to go get Leia from the port.”

“Are you sure you’re tired?”

Rey looks up at his exceptionally disinterested tone. “Why?”

He shrugs. “Well, like you said you’ve been gone all day, and I’ve been missing you all this time... thinking about you...”

Rey eyes him as he stares back innocently, feeling warmth creep up her neck. “Fine. But first we have to put away all this food.”

Ben groans. “Fine.”

As soon as their bedroom door slides shut behind them, Ben’s hands are on her, roaming over her body, tugging her clothing, seeking skin. She barely has time to kick off her boots before he pulls her against him. She stretches up on her toes as his lips crash down on hers, hungry and gentle all at once.

“Missed you – so much –” he mumbles between kisses as her hands slide into his hair, tugging him closer.

“It was ten hours,” she laughs, breathless, breaking away to catch some air and press a kiss to his nose

“Too long,” he answers, guiding her backwards to the wall. She stumbles over something – probably one of the shoes he and Hanna failed to pick up – and his large hands on her waist manage to steady her but –

Her back hits the wall with a loud thud, and suddenly they both freeze, breathing ragged. The seconds tick by as they wait.

“Did they wake up?” Rey whispers.

“I don’t hear anything,” Ben answers, nuzzling into her neck. “For once the kids are still sleeping.”

“Ben,” Rey says, a sudden thought striking her as he nips her earlobe and his hands slide low over her back. “What about your mother?”

Ben froze again. “What about her?”

“What if she, you know, hears us?”

“So?”

“So...” Rey squirms, putting a few inches between them.

“Really?”

“It doesn’t bother you?”

“It’s not like she doesn’t know we have sex. The proof is in Hanna’s bedroom.” Ben leans his forehead against hers, his eyes burning and a little impatient. “Anyway, she’s my mother.”

“And she’s my mother-in-law,” Rey hisses. “I want to be able to look her in the eye at breakfast tomorrow.”

He groans and removes his hands, placing them on the wall to either side of her, his frustration leaking out. “What does it matter? She likes you better than she likes me,” Ben says bitterly.

Rey frowns and removes her hands from his mussed hair to take his face firmly. “That is a lie.”

Ben starts to pull away and she can feel his guilt seeping out in the bond.

“That is a lie,” Rey repeats urgently, holding him. “Say it.”

“That’s a lie,” he mumbles, his body still tense.

Rey pulls him into an embrace and they stand in thick silence, holding each other.

“I’m sorry,” Ben says eventually.

Rey shifts against him, rubbing her cheek on his soft sweater. “Don’t be,” she responds quietly. “I know it’s like a reflex. Sometimes I still wake up and think I’m alone on Jakku, waiting.”

He pulls back to meet her eyes, his hand coming up to cradle her jaw, his thumb brushing across her lips. “You do?”

She smiles at him. “Less and less.” She slips away from the wall, snagging his hand in hers. “Come to bed.”

Ben allows Rey to lead him, curling around her when she lies down. She stretches a hand to the wall and switches off the glow panels as he gathers up the blankets, tucking them both in. His arms slide around her, pulling her back to his chest.

“I love you,” Ben mumbles into her hair. Rey twists around, placing a gentle kiss on his mouth.

“I love you, too,” she says.

**Author's Note:**

> A month later and I'm still salty af.


End file.
